1. Field of the Disclosure
The present disclosure relates generally to the fields of automated detection and treatment of medical conditions, and more specifically, to treatment of medical conditions based upon automated detection and delivery of therapy via mucous or serous membranes.
2. Description of Related Art
A metered-dose inhaler may be used to deliver a specific amount of medication to the lungs to treat asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), and other respiratory diseases. For a metered-dose inhaler to be effective, typically, a patient suffering such a disease must recognize that he or she is in a situation where use of the inhaler is appropriate, and he or she must bring the inhaler to the mouth and activate it.
A patient's failure to appropriately activate the metered-dose inhaler may reduce the effectiveness of the treatment and may fail to capitalize on the opportunity to intervene even before the first symptom occurs, to the detriment of the patient. Moreover, leaving the determination of timing and dosage of delivery of medicine to the patient may have further disadvantages. For example, the patient may not be in a position to decide on the appropriate timing for delivery of therapy. Further, errors in the dosage of the medication may occur. Still further, relying on the patient to deliver medication can lead to incorrect application of therapy, thereby possibly reducing efficacy, causing an overdose, and/or leading to addiction in the case of certain analgesics or CNS acting drugs. Also, metered-dose inhalers are generally only used against respiratory diseases.